Hi Brian,Thanks for the tutorial, it is a great help .Used your way to enter the weights in PFPX and Topcat, although the figures ar a bit different then Yours . Used the Virgin Atlantic model with the GE engines.Amazing, planned a short flight from LEBL to EHAM , with set zones by flight track enabled.Together with electronic flightbag, and active sky 2012 to send the weather to PREPAR3D on a second computer, and visual psx and ofcourse PSX on the first pc this is wonderfull.And planned to land in Amsterdam with 10100 kg left, the actual remaining fuell was 10600 kg.I know this is just a snack for the lady, and long haul flight will for sure give bigger differences, but anyhowe it's nice to see.Just for experimenting tried the cruise scenario at 37000 feet, with a 100 knot headwind component and a 100 knot tailwind component and was surprised to see that the fuell flow was the same2.2 per engine versus 2.3 , that is 400 kg per hour for 4 enginesI would like to know why this difference is so small?Ivo

Usually there is little point in pushing harder. Aircraft simply push at more or less the same force and see what happens. If you start manipulating the Cost Index (try 0 and 1000) or directly the Mach, you will see huge differences in fuel consumption. Try getting her to M0.90 :-)

By the way 2.2 sounds like tonnes, not like thousands of pounds. About ten tonnes per hour for all engines is about right.

I would have thought it to be quite normal for the fuel flow in both scenarios to be the same. The engines dont know about head or tailwind, it would and will affect your ground speed. But for a given configuration, (e.g. Load etc) fuel flow should be the same wherever the wind comes from.

I would have thought it to be quite normal for the fuel flow in both scenarios to be the same. The engines dont know about head or tailwind, it would and will affect your ground speed. But for a given configuration, (e.g. Load etc) fuel flow should be the same wherever the wind comes from.

Jeroen

It happens only in ECON mode and when the MCP SPD window is blank. As you know, the cost index deals with fuel costs versus time costs. The groundspeed changes the times, thus influences the parameter in the economy algorithm, and that controls the FMC command speed.

Great tutorial as usual Brian, thanks a lot!Just to add that PFPX was updated to version 1.16. The only relevant PSX change I can see so far is that you can export the RTE directly into PSX FMC. No big deal as this was already possible before just needed to manually move the RTE file into the folder. Its a pity that PFPX does not offer aircraft templates tailored to PSX.

It may perhaps be that you are confusing the aircraft types available within PFPX (see http://www.flightsimsoft.com/downloads/PFPX_Aircraft_AddOn_List.pdf) with the aircraft available within TOPCAT? I agree that it can be confusing, not least because although both programs were written by the same person, and they can work closely together: however, they are distinct, and their aircraft lists are not the same.

On the other hand, perhaps you're confusing the PFPX aircraft types that you can see in the above list (which in my version of Windows 7 are found in C:\Users\Public\Documents\PFPX Data\AircraftTypes) with the PFPX aircraft templates (C:\Users\Public\Documents\PFPX Data\AircraftTemplates)?

Yes, I totally agree that all this isn't especially clear....

So, within PFPX, try this.

From the start globe (top left), select Aircraft Manager and then Aircraft Database (NOT Aircraft Template). Then click on the New icon and again be careful to select "New aircraft" and NOT "New from template". Now enter your registration (and tail number, if you wish).

Now click the Type dropdown and select Boeing 747-400 (or the 400F for cargo) and also select your engine type from that dropdown, and you should then be using the Doug Snow and Judith Blaschegg non-P**G version. Enter any other information, if you wish, and then save the result, and then try loading it as your aircraft for your next planning session.

It may perhaps be that you are confusing the aircraft types available within PFPX (see http://www.flightsimsoft.com/downloads/PFPX_Aircraft_AddOn_List.pdf) with the aircraft available within TOPCAT? I agree that it can be confusing, not least because although both programs were written by the same person, and they can work closely together: however, they are distinct, and their aircraft lists are not the same.

On the other hand, perhaps you're confusing the PFPX aircraft types that you can see in the above list (which in my version of Windows 7 are found in C:UsersPublicDocumentsPFPX DataAircraftTypes) with the PFPX aircraft templates (C:UsersPublicDocumentsPFPX DataAircraftTemplates)?

Yes, I totally agree that all this isn't especially clear....

So, within PFPX, try this.

From the start globe (top left), select Aircraft Manager and then Aircraft Database (NOT Aircraft Template). Then click on the New icon and again be careful to select "New aircraft" and NOT "New from template". Now enter your registration (and tail number, if you wish).

Now click the Type dropdown and select Boeing 747-400 (or the 400F for cargo) and also select your engine type from that dropdown, and you should then be using the Doug Snow and Judith Blaschegg non-P**G version. Enter any other information, if you wish, and then save the result, and then try loading it as your aircraft for your next planning session.

quick question. I followed all steps as described in your tutorial. Now, when I plan a flight in PFPX I am getting quite different Vspeeds compared to the Vspeeds calculated in FMC. Any thoughts why this is?

<sigh> I think it would be true to say that many of us who fly PSX find some of TOPCAT's figures a bit off from time to time. I know of no solution, I'm afraid: it seems to be something that we have to live with, since at present TOPCAT is the only tool we've got.

Having said that, though, I have heard a whisper that a PSX-specific tool is in the course of development, so hopefully the problem will be alleviated at some point!

Cheers,

Brian

_______________

(Author of "The Big Tutorial" for PS1, and "Getting started with PSX" Parts 1 and 2).

I just completed my first entirely self planned flight (using PFPX and TOPCAT) using your guide and I was a little concerned to start with as initially I was showing a predicted 0 fuel remaining but once I reached cruise, it all settled down and I landed with around 10,000kg left in the tanks which was what I was roughly expecting.

It was only a short familiarisation flight from EGLL to EDDV which took around an hour once I finally got airborne but it all went well. It's still taking me far too long to go through preflight but I'm still finding my way around the systems again.

The scene* also features various PSX simmers (you know who you are) and proceeds to show the fall-out from someone's attempt to fly a 744/PSX without having studied Part 1 and Part 2.(And while MS operatives can be seen running headlessly around, trying to find pertinent Registry entries, it all segues, as it must, into the restoration of PSX User Happiness, and thus PUH rules again).

Cheers,Martin

* originally intended as the CRASH! sequence for PSX, but Hardy's minimalist approach prevailed.

...factors such as the greatly increased level of general simming knowledge, and the availability of FCOMs and other material, the time for a PSX equivalent of the old PS1 beginner's tutorial has passed. Furthermore, these days people generally prefer watching videos to reading manuals, and hence Britjet's brilliant series of PSX vids is much more appropriate in terms of format (and also expertise!) to the PSX flyer of 2015.

So I'm afraid there will never be a part 3 as I had originally envisaged: my apologies for misleading you, and others; however the decision is irrevocable.

Hi Brian,

Again thank you for the two tutorials. I do not want to discuss your irrevocable decision, however I would like to discuss the need of a "complete" tutorial of a flight, say EGLL - KJFK. No doubt that the general simming knowledge has increased and that videos are very popular but for example, for the PMDG 777, a written tutorial / commented flight is still appreciated. I've not been on PMDG forum recently but a couple of months ago, there were regular requests for an advanced tutorial, step by step operations for a flight from point A to point B.